20 



Keartland, The Quail Season, 191 2. [vd!'"xx?x. 



THE QUAIL SEASON, 1912. 

 By G. a. Keartland. 

 {Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, i$th April, 191 2.) 

 When I penned my paper {Vict. Nat., xxviii., pp. 90, 120) last 

 year on the alteration of the shooting season for quail and its 

 effects I intended to abandon the subject finally ; but as my 

 statements were ridiculed by the powers that administer the 

 (]aine Act, and I was accused of the folly of basing my opinion 

 on that abnormal season. I determined to again watch the 

 birds carefully this year. 



It was on the last Saturday in November that I first saw a 

 nice lot of quail, but they had not paired, although so late in 

 the season. In January they had all paired ; but, in spite 

 of careful search with the assistance of a good pointer dog, 

 I could not locate a single nest of eggs or brood of young birds. 

 On the 4th February 1 had another search, Imt, although 1 saw 

 a fair number of quail, I could not see any indication of 

 breeding. 



An invitation from a farmer friend induced me to try my 

 luck on the opening day of the shooting season (Thursday, 

 15th February). An early start enabled my son and self to 

 reach the paddock in which I had been told the birds were 

 just at daybreak. I was soon at work, and so were a number 

 of other shooters, but the ground was dry, and only good dogs 

 were any use, as the scent was very faint, owing to the lack of 

 dew. By q a.m. I had shot a few birds, which were taken at 

 once to the shelter of a dairy farm and left there until 8 p.m. 

 After some refreshment we decided to have another search, 

 but the sun was too hot for either man, dog, or quail. About 

 midday I again met a gentleman who was shooting in the 

 paddock where we commenced in the morning. He had about 

 ten brace of birds, but, as he had been carrying them in the 

 sun, they were decidedly " high," and ajipeared to be decom- 

 posed into a solid mass. My dogs were now showing signs 

 of distress, so we sought a friendly shade in the vicinity of a 

 large dam and waited for evening, at the same time casting 

 envious eyes at the dogs, which were lying in the water with 

 only their heads above the surface. In the evening we met 

 a resident of Thomastown whom we had also seen earlier in 

 the day. He was determined to secure a few more birds, and 

 had a fresh dog to help him. Notwithstanding his j)erse- 

 verance, he only got seven and a half brace, but had such a 

 baking in the sun that he had to take to his bed next day and 

 send for the doctor. I heard a week afterwards that he was 

 still delirious from the effects of the sun and exertion com- 

 bined. On reaching home the birds I shot were plucked, and, as 

 I was anxious to ascertain whether they showed any indica- 



